Summary: As we enter a New Year, here are some facts to carry with us throughout the whole year.

We stand on the threshold of a new year ! Great opportunities lie ahead ! Great challenges will confront us ! Many disappointments will occur. All of these and probably much more !

With every new day comes change, but there are some constants that we as believers have. It is good to know....comforting to possess some faithful facts for the future we face.

1. We Have A Lord That Lives !

a. The Redemption. Jesus Christ gave himself as a willing sacrifice upon the cross for the sins of humanity. In this time of uncertainty, we need to remember that as Jesus hung there on the cross at Calvary..he too was afflicted....he too was abused.....he too was abandoned....but let’s remember his final words as he was consumed in darkness. “It is finished”

Not words of defeat, but words of a decisive victory.

We are assured victory because we have a victorious savior !

b. The Resurrection. The devil, and demons of hell may have shouted jeers, and cheers as he died there on the cross....but they were soon silenced.......as the cold tomb revealed a colossal triumph. Oh.....I know my redeemer liveth.....Amid the chaos of today.....amid the concern about tomorrow....amid the challenges to the future......every child of God can lift up their voice from every corner of this great land.......I know that my redeemer liveth. Now is the time, now is a great opportunity for us to share to the world that there is a Lord That Lives !

c. The Return. When all is said, and done, when evil seems that is might triumph....the Lord will return. The Bible shares to us the words of Jesus...

Be ye therefore ready, for in such a hour as ye think not the son of man cometh. Chaos shall not win, confusion shall not prevail, corruption will not reign.....the Son of God is coming !

In our passage in Romans 8, Paul proclaims another faithful fact..... Paul knew about uncertainty....In 1 Cor. 4 he speaks of his experiences with hunger, and thirst. He speaks of not having a dwelling place. Paul experienced criticism, and persecution. He was defamed and treated as the filth of the earth. In 2 Cor 4 he speaks of his being troubled on every side.....of being perplexed....of being persecuted..of being cast down. Yet in spite of all of life’s uncertainties...Paul proclaims here in these verses a certain truth....

2. We Have A Love That Lasts. The Lord Lives, and his love lasts.

Illust.

A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.

a. There is no place that his love cannot reach. It can penetrate the darkest, coldest heart.on the walls of asylum......

On the walls of an insane asylum were scrawled the following words by some unknown patient in the institution......”Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchmentmade, and every blade of grass a quill, and every man a scribe by trade: to write the love of God to man, would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole...though stretches from sky to skyfear....because the love of God endures ! It is continual, constant, certain.

In a everchanging world...isn’t it good to know that there are somethings that remain the same......God’s great love for us.......remains !

Illust. Among the rubble of the WTC, a twisted beams of steel that formed a perfect cross.

b. There is not a person that he doesn’t love. God knows no one that he doesn’t love. John 3:16, Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

In Describing the Love of God one Pastor said the following:

He is not moody or capricious; he knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: he loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners. False gods—the gods of human manufacturing—despise sinners, but the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do.

Illust.

While on a mission team to Romania, I met a Hungarian Baptist Pastor named Zoltan Vekas. Zoltan lived in Satu Mara, Romania. One of our many discussions centered around the Gypsies. He said to me that he enjoyed being with the Gypsies. I asked him to explain. He began to tell me how the Gypsies are nomadic people and are accepted by no one. They are rejected by all classes and never find a warm welcome or a word of encouragement. He said that when he was with the Gypsies he felt most like Jesus must have felt. The Gypsies have no place to call home. No one loves them and no one wants them. I returned to Romania the following year and had the blessing of preaching in a Gypsy camp. I used John 3:16 for the text. I spoke about the love of God for all mankind. One Gypsy woman stood through the entire service weeping. I was told that her tears were a result of the knowledge that God loved her so much that He would send His Son to take her place on the cross. --James L. Densman